A variety of approaches have been used to improve the tenderness of red meat products, several of which are reported in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/104,754, U.S. Pat. No. 6,648,744 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,748,667, each entitled “Method and Apparatus for Tenderizing Meat,” and each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. These references are collectively referred to herein as the “Bell patents.”
One approach for tenderizing meat is to stretch, manipulate or otherwise affect muscles in a carcass prior to the onset of rigor mortis. Specific muscles stretching and/or manipulation techniques are reported in the Bell patents, as well as in Sorheim et al., “Muscle Stretching Techniques For Improving Meat Tenderness,” Trends in Food Science and Technology, 13 (200) 127-135 (the “Sorheim” article).
In one embodiment, the Bell patent describes a method for tenderizing meat in which a carcass is halved and then one or more vertebrae of the carcass are separated to stretch certain muscles on the carcass. Electrical stimulation is then applied to portions of the carcass' musculature. The carcass is then stored in the chill room prior to being delivered to the cut floor.
An additional approach for tenderizing meat described in the Sorheim article is the “Tenderstretch” method. In the Tenderstretch method, the carcass is suspended from a physiological site in the pelvic region (as opposed to the more conventional Achilles suspension) for several hours while stored in the chill room. For example, the carcass is hung from the obturator foramen region of the carcass. The Sorheim article reports that the Tenderstretch method stretches certain muscles that are not stretched by Achilles suspension.
There is a need in the art for a meat tenderization method that incorporates aspects of the Tenderstretch method in a manner consistent with existing commercial meat production operations and commercial chain speeds.